[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Turkish government has decided to shorten the interval for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots from 6 months to 3 months.
According to local media such as Turkey's Hurriyet on the 17th (local time), Fahrettin Koca, Turkey's Minister of Health, said after a meeting of the Coronavirus Science Committee, "People who received their vaccine at least 3 months ago can now get the booster shot."
Minister Koca explained, "The Science Committee assessed the threat of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron," and added, "It was determined that eligible individuals must receive the booster shot to curb the spread of COVID-19 currently affecting Europe."
He continued, "Although Omicron is more contagious, it appears not to cause severe symptoms," but added, "It is still necessary to follow preventive measures to stop the spread of COVID-19."
Turkey is administering COVID-19 vaccines developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac and the vaccine jointly developed by the American company Pfizer and the German company BioNTech. Since the 4th of last month, booster shots have been given to those who passed 6 months after their second dose, and about 13 million people have completed their booster vaccinations.
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